Category Archives: MMO design

Captain Gevlon going down with the Tortanic

Posted on August 8, 2012 by SynCaine

And… back! Vacation was very nice, thanks for asking. TAGN did a very nice job filling in for me on the SW:TOR failure front. I agree with everything in his post, and will only add one thing; while it’s obvious … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Rant, RMT, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 12 Comments

Mainstream dilution, core gamer evolution

Posted on July 20, 2012 by SynCaine

I’m glad people enjoyed the article I linked to yesterday, and I wish I had seen it earlier as I really believe it does an excellent job breaking down how certain companies approach creating ‘games’ and also who is actually … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Random, Rant, RMT | 16 Comments

Best thing written about gaming (ever?)

Posted on July 19, 2012 by SynCaine

This is required reading. If you don’t read this start to finish right meow you will be forced to turn in your “gamer” card. My thoughts on all of it are coming ‘soon’. H/T to Shiolle for the link.

Posted in MMO design, Random, RMT | 28 Comments

Dynamic layers

Posted on July 17, 2012 by SynCaine

This blog would be a lot more interesting if I could write about our current plans and immediate impacts of our current situation in EVE, but EVE being what it is, I can’t. Hopefully the delayed drip won’t result in … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, crafting, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, PvP | 6 Comments

Everyone’s an expert

Posted on July 11, 2012 by SynCaine

Dev hatred/worship is fairly common in gaming, and perhaps more-so in the MMO space due to the continual nature of the genre. Many players believe the devs are idiots/geniuses, either always screwing the game up or always having the right … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, League of Legends, MMO design, Random | 5 Comments

Atlantica Online is now super ‘accessible’

Posted on July 6, 2012 by SynCaine

Atlantica Online is not the game it was when I played it back in late 2008. It’s still got the combat system, and graphics, and all of that. It still has the same initial quest structure, town system, pops up, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantica Online, MMO design, World of Warcraft | 2 Comments

EVE Alliance Tournament 10: Balance on display

Posted on July 2, 2012 by SynCaine

EVE’s Alliance Tourney 10 (AT10) started last weekend, and I was able to watch a good amount of it. Overall the production value was pretty damn high, and the matches were interesting and explained well. The downtime is somewhat lengthy … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, PvP | 12 Comments

Day-one mastery

Posted on June 29, 2012 by SynCaine

Keen has a nice post about why he is finding current-day MMOs lacking, especially in immersion. I think what Keen writes is something many (most?) MMO players feel, whether they actually know it or not. A major issue with MMOs … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, beta, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 10 Comments

Out-voted

Posted on June 26, 2012 by SynCaine

A box-only game is successful if people buy the box. How they feel about what’s inside the box after the sale is only important if you intend to start or maintain a franchise. If this is a one-off game, whether … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, League of Legends, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Random, Rant, RMT, World of Warcraft | 24 Comments

EVE: C5 ISK

Posted on June 22, 2012 by SynCaine

As previously mentioned, one of the major factors in moving INQ-E into a C5 and joining HAHA was ISK, and more specifically just how much more ISK you can make running C5 sleeper sites than you can in a C3. … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, MMO design | 13 Comments